Wright in Flight

In the 21st century, travel by air is commonplace, maybe annoying, untimely and aggravating all too often, but available on short notice if willing to pay the price. Of course, today's flights travel at super speeds so a destination can be reached in a manner of hours, rather than months as experienced by wagon train.

For more than two thousand years man has been fascinated with flight. It began with the earliest kites, then, reconnaissance balloons on to dreams of man being able to fly as depicted in sketches by Leonardo da Vinci.

 Central Framework Of Leonardo's Human-Powered Ornithopter - ca. 1485

Unmanned flight and hang gliders date as far back as the 1800s but the first successful manned, powered flight is credited to the Wright Brothers on...

This Day in History: December 17, 1903

December 17 is...

Wright Brothers Day

Dreamers Who Made a Difference

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were born four years apart and grew up in a small town in Ohio. Both were intellectually curious with a natural aptitude for science. Man-in-flight was already being investigated which appealed wholeheartedly to the brothers' curious nature. They began experimentation in 1896 at their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was selected as the proving ground because of the constant wind that added lift to their newly designed craft.

The Wright Brothers were not the first to build experimental aircraft, and news of fatal glider crashes involving other aviation trailblazers influenced the direction of their research and development. The Wright brothers focused their efforts on pilot-activated flight-stabilizing controls. Their discoveries form the basis of modern flight. In 1903 when aviation was in its infancy, sustained flight was measured in seconds and piloting was a developing skill, and although early flight lacked sophistication, it threw open the doors for the evolution of the aviation industry, and set the stage for the global travel system that we take for granted today. 

From Then...

Wilbur just after landing the 1901 glider. Glider skid marks are visible behind it, and marks from a previous landing are seen in front; Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

First flight of the Wright Flyer I, December 17, 1903, Orville piloting, Wilbur running at wingtip.

'Til Now...

Some versions of the Boeing 767 are used for military applications and even for transporting certain VIP people by air routes.

Boeing 797 meeting the huge demand for air transportation...

Boeing is preparing this 1000 passenger Jet Liner that could reshape the Air Travel Industry. Its radical "Blended Wing & Fuselage" design has been developed by Boeing in cooperation with NASA Langley Research Centre.

Show your appreciation for the current airline system and the freedom to travel to all parts of the planet by celebrating Wright Brothers Day. Increase your knowledge about this monumental day.

  10 Things You May Not Know About the Wright Brothers

And, it happened on American soil...